The Sea God's Hunt
Kyle first secured lodging for their stay in the area. The nobles who had realized they couldn't swim in the sea had long since departed, so finding a place to stay was remarkably easy. After settling in, Kyle and Yuri sat together in a spot overlooking the beach, staring blankly at the ocean.
Emerald Beach. The sea of the Emerald Count Territory. A body of water that sparkled like a jewel, just as its name suggested. Gazing at it like this made it easy to understand why nobles chose this place as their annual vacation spot.
……If this were the original story, there'd be bikinis here too.
Kyle thought to himself as he subtly turned his head to look at Yuri sitting beside him. As expected of a resort town, there were a few shops selling clothes, and they'd already bought her a new outfit suited to the location. The swimsuit revealed quite a bit of skin, which gave him some pause, but Yuri herself didn't seem particularly bothered by it.
"It's hot."
"Hm?"
"I want to go into the sea."
However, as a grand duchess who had grown up in the north where razor-sharp, frost-laden winds blew every day, she seemed completely at a loss when faced with the warm sunlight pouring down from above. She was sweating just from sitting there doing nothing, breathing heavily with her mouth slightly open. Watching her, Kyle felt an urgent desire to let her swim as soon as possible.
The problem was—
"You cannot enter."
"Please step back. The area is under restriction."
The territory soldiers strictly controlling access to the beach, and beyond them, the massive fish that was treating the sea like its own private bathing area. That creature, known to the locals as the Sea God, was the issue.
The first thought that came to mind upon seeing the Sea God controlling the ocean was simple: Can't I just cut that thing down?
Unfortunately, he had to abandon that idea almost immediately. After visiting inns and shops to gauge public opinion about the Sea God, he realized the residents didn't hold particularly negative views toward it.
"The Sea God? He's a good being. Whenever he appears, the fishing harvest for the year is incredible."
"Wouldn't it be better to get rid of him? Haha, it's only been a few decades since the nobles started coming here for vacations, but the Sea God has been protecting our territory for hundreds of years—maybe even longer. You want to exterminate him just to make a bit of money? Every single resident here would oppose it."
Most of the locals held positive opinions about the Sea God. Of course, Kyle knew this was nothing more than a myth born from centuries of blind worship. In 21st-century Earth, such an ancient faith would have faded away under the power of gunpowder and lead bullets. At the same time, Kyle also knew exactly what happened when someone tried to crush faith through brute force.
This isn't good.
Nobles were essentially the masters of commoners. If the lord of this territory gave an order, the residents would obey with sullen faces. But they wouldn't do it sincerely. And you couldn't accomplish anything with uncooperative people.
No matter how strong Kyle was, he couldn't simply walk across the sea to fight the Sea God. There was a reason he couldn't do that.
It's not just a big fish.
If it were merely a large fish, the people of this world would have exterminated the Sea God long ago. In fact, something like a fish would never have earned the title of Sea God in the first place. The Sea God wasn't some oversized whale that simply swallowed plankton. It was exactly what its name implied—a god of the sea. A being that ruled the ocean. A monster born with Force abilities.
The sea is its domain. Even approaching by boat would be dangerous, and creating a platform with Aura to walk across might be even riskier.
Without knowing the exact nature of its abilities, charging in blindly was foolish. What if it had the power to scatter Aura? He'd fall straight into the sea, and even an Aura Master couldn't hope to defeat such a massive sea monster underwater. The most likely outcome was being toyed with like an insect in a collection jar before being easily devoured.
I'd need a boat, a skilled navigator to sail it safely, and people who hold a grudge against that Sea God and wouldn't hesitate to hunt it…….
It was realistically impossible. It seemed better to just give up. Kyle sighed and returned to their lodging. He felt sorry for Yuri, but they could visit the sea another time. Considering he was still an academy cadet, it would be impossible this year. Maybe next year…… but that was better than forcing a hunt for the Sea God.
While pondering what to tell Yuri, Kyle returned to their room and froze at the sight of her waiting inside.
"……Yuri?"
"Ah, Kyle."
Seeing that he had returned, Yuri carefully removed the coat she had been using to cover herself. Beneath it was a swimsuit. A white bikini that emphasized her fair skin even more, paired with translucent frills that seemed to both cover and reveal her figure. The sight was like a fairy straight out of a fairy tale appearing before his eyes. Kyle swallowed hard as he stared at her.
"What do you think? I tried it on……."
"It's beautiful."
"……Thank you."
Upon hearing Kyle's compliment, Yuri seemed satisfied and began putting her coat back on. Watching her immediately hide her swimsuit form, Kyle grabbed her with clear disappointment.
"You're changing already?"
"Yes. It's a swimsuit."
"No, you could wear it a little longer……."
"What's the point of wearing it if I can't even swim?"
Yuri's words were perfectly reasonable, and Kyle couldn't find any argument against them. At the same time, a firm resolve bloomed in his chest.
"……I'll be back in a bit."
"Again?"
"Yeah. I'll be back around dinnertime."
He had to defeat the Sea God. Only then could he see her in that swimsuit for just a little while longer.
The method Kyle chose to deal with the Sea God was long-range attacks. It was something he had realized while facing Kayness, a member of the terrorist group Iron Fanatics that had secretly infiltrated the academy. He lacked the ability to deal with distant opponents. Since then, Kyle had been honing techniques specifically for attacking faraway enemies.
"How much for one of these?"
"A harpoon? Twenty thousand cash each."
"I'll take them all."
"Thank you, sir!"
First, he purchased harpoons from a shop. A spear would have been better, but as expected of a beach town, there were far more fishing tools than spears. Among them, the harpoon was the most suitable for throwing. It was a tool used from small boats—thrown at fish spotted while sailing. Compared to a professionally made throwing spear, its range was shorter and its efficiency poor, but…… it wasn't a bad option for something available in a place like this.
Kyle infused the trembling harpoon with Aura to stabilize it, then moved to find a good spot for throwing. A place close to the sea but with low risk of falling in. Standing atop a cliff where the soldiers' surveillance didn't reach, Kyle waited for the Sea God to appear.
Come on.
After some time, the sea began to swirl into a waterspout. Riding the towering column of water, the Sea God launched its body high into the sky. A playful display befitting a creature that toyed with the ocean. Watching this, Kyle carefully stood up and poured Aura into the harpoon. The technique of maintaining Aura on a thrown object for a long distance was something he had learned from Kayness. The Aura he infused into this harpoon would not dissipate until it reached the Sea God.
─Vwoooooong—!
"Hup—!"
The moment the Sea God rode the waterspout upward once more, Kyle seized the opportunity and hurled the harpoon. He hadn't adjusted for zero point, and the distance was greater than expected, so hitting it properly seemed unlikely. But Kyle manipulated the Aura within the flying harpoon to change its trajectory. Just as a missile uses boosters to adjust its path mid-air, the harpoon Kyle threw altered its direction using Aura as it flew toward the Sea God.
The Sea God sensed something piercing through the air and protected its body with seawater, but it wasn't enough to stop a harpoon filled with Aura.
─Kuuueeeeeeeeeeeek!
The Sea God's scream echoed across the sea, causing the waters to tremble. Kyle grinned as he watched the harpoon embedded in the creature's eye. There were still plenty of harpoons left. If it took all of them, Sea God or not—
"—Huh?"
Unfortunately, Kyle's plan never got the chance to fully unfold. The Sea God, experiencing pain for the first time in its life, panicked and immediately disappeared from sight. Kyle scratched his cheek as he watched the creature's retreating form swim far into the distance.
……Well, if it's taken care of, I guess that's fine.
In the distance, he could see the territory residents rushing toward the beach, wondering what had happened. Now they should be able to use the sea. Kyle returned to their lodging, imagining how happy Yuri would be.